Real? Not real?
My mom seems to think so, and I don't. I can't convince her otherwise. She's literally infatuated with the idea of animal whisperers. I can understand it, but at the same time, I can't grasp the concept to think it's completely true. My mom's obsessed with all of these shows about do whispering and etc. What do you think?

Real in the sense that these people are really good and 'in-tune' with the animals. They have great animal body language and attitudes. They read and respond very well in dealing with the creatures. I have been able to do this sometimes in my life, especially with dogs. It is a TALANT and a SKILL but not a special MAGIC POWER. lol.

I LOVE ANIMALS! Yes, I would be an animal hoarder if I also didn't know how cruel in itself this is, lol.

My wife's a dog trainer. In my house she's alpha dog over a pack (I lost count at 6) of beagles she's rescued from the humane society. She just looks at the dogs and they know what to do. Like LadyJane said, it ain't magic but it sure is impressive. I think what's going on there is that connections that most of us might assume require verbalization and gesticulation can be accomplished with just the eyes and subtle variations in facial expression. What impresses me is that the dogs can pick up on that subtle shit. They're definitely paying attention to her.

There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide. -Camus

I clicked yes.
It is not a secret thing to understand an animal. You just have to take the time to observe the animals and use the same towards them.
I am not the greatest with dogs though I can deal with them ok (apart from Maxi who was a special case) but give me cats, bunnies, gunieapigs, mice, hamsters etc... I am doing good with them. And all I do is acting towards them as they do to each other. And that's the whole secret. (And no, I don't call myself a <insert pet>whisperer)

(12-01-2012 08:18 PM)GirlyMan Wrote: My wife's a dog trainer. In my house she's alpha dog over a pack (I lost count at 6) of beagles she's rescued from the humane society. She just looks at the dogs and they know what to do. Like LadyJane said, it ain't magic but it sure is impressive. I think what's going on there is that connections that most of us might assume require verbalization and gesticulation can be accomplished with just the eyes and subtle variations in facial expression. What impresses me is that the dogs can pick up on that subtle shit. They're definitely paying attention to her.

Why are you so impressed? She's been doing the same thing to you for years.

It was just a fucking apple man, we're sorry okay? Please stop the madness
~Izel

(12-01-2012 08:18 PM)GirlyMan Wrote: I think what's going on there is that connections that most of us might assume require verbalization and gesticulation can be accomplished with just the eyes and subtle variations in facial expression. What impresses me is that the dogs can pick up on that subtle shit. They're definitely paying attention to her.

Why are you so impressed? She's been doing the same thing to you for years. :D

thanks ... fucker ... :)

There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide. -Camus

I'm a dog trainer by trade. The term comes from scam artisis who had incredibly well trained animals. Enough so that they convinced people that they could communicate with animals telepathically, had animals that could spell, animals that could perform math, etc. The first animal whisperer that openly used techniques that were used by these charlitains, and shared the truth about said techniques was the "original" horse whisperer, Monty Roberts. He used a technique that used an animals own "language" to train it. Or in Monty Roberts word, he "gentiled" horses.

Many trainers use this technique (including myself), but it can be difficult to teach because it takes a great deal of practicr to do it intuitively. Instead, we teach people to train in the traditional sense, but use "whispering" in a very basic way to help our clients communicate with their animal more effectively. Simple things like, if you want a horse to come to you, face it and walk towards it. This will push the horse away, like a dominant horse in the herd would. It makes the horse want to please you as it sees you as a herd leader, and thus being allowed close to you means better safety. So the more you push it, the more it's instinct says to be close to you. Then, like a dominant horse would, turn away, look down, and show the horse your side. This is an invitation to come close. It's simple to do, and VERY useful, especially for a horse who dislikes being tacked and saddled.

So, after my rant, my answer is, yes, whisperers are real, just not extraordinary. And an honest one will tell you so!

(13-01-2012 10:13 PM)Stark Raving Wrote: I'm a dog trainer by trade. ... So, after my rant, my answer is, yes, whisperers are real, just not extraordinary. And an honest one will tell you so!

You sound like my wife. Except she don't do it for trade anymore. She used to do it for PetSmart but they couldn't continue to make it worth her while. She just works with her own now, with an occasional rescue added to the mix for good measure.

There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide. -Camus

I am naturally in tune with dogs. I bought a house and the asshole who sold it left me to deal with his "untrained, unfixable dog". I just came out to have a walk alone in my back garden for the first time and a crazy chained German shepherd-Rottweiler mix wanted to practically eat me. In my own yard. I went very close to him and smoked a cigarette sitting in front of him while he was constantly trying to break the chain and have a piece of me. I was close enough to smell his breath. When I finished smoking I said in my calmest voice: ok, are you done now? And he stopped instantly. He sniffed me and then I touched him. From that moment on he was literally my dog.

My wife complained one day when I came from work that he had been barking for close to 8 hours already and she tried everything to shut him up, ranging from calm voice to barked commands to yelling in rage. The dog was still barking. I got my head out the window and said in a normal voice (much lower than his barking): yo, shut up. He did. I hadn't spent too much time with him before that. He just naturally obeyed. He was still completely untrained when he broke the chain one day and he got hit by a car. I was able to handle and treat his broken paw without any protest or attempt to defend himself against the pain I was causing him.

I take "Beware of the dog" signs as a challenge or, from case to case, a joke. I just like the look on the master's face when he sees his "guardian" dog licking my shoe after 3 minutes.

I was able to do that all my life, without any kind of training. With a few tricks I had learned from "The Dog Whisperer" show, I turned my untrained unfixable aggressive German shepherd-Rottweiler into a puppy. Did you ever see a barely walking toddler dragging a goofy huge dog by one of the back paws and he hops around to trying to follow the toddler without falling? He became that kind of dog.

If you're asking whether Cesar Millan is for real, he totally is. There is no doubt in my mind and if we ever meet, I can prove that to you because I can do pretty much everything he can. If you have a different picture on "dog whispering", then I can assure you that there's no magic involved. If you have a natural leadership talent, dogs and people do follow. If you don't have the talent you can still learn some skills. Cesar Millan has both.

Oh, no Hallucinations 4:11 says the 'gilded sheep should be stewed in rat blood' but Morons 5:16 contradicts it. (Chas)